A recurring problem during testing of electrical circuits is that the number of signals that are of interest is larger than the number of available measurement channels of the measurement system. All signals are therefore not recorded simultaneously but rather merged in a fictive montage after completion of the measurement. Another problem frequently encountered is that the circuit is so dense populated with components that it is nearly impossible to reliable probe signals provided physical close to each other.
A common solution to this problem is to utilize a dedicated probe card with connection pins arranged in a geometric configuration suitable for the DUT (device under test). However, such a probe card may be very expensive and hard to probe in a reliable manner. It is very easy to obtain a bad connection from the DUT to the connection pins of the probe card. In order to achieve a good measurement a dedicated probe station may be used. The dedicated probe station offers rigid mechanics for holding the probe card and the DUT and precise actuators for controlling the probe card and to bring the connection pins in contact with the DUT. The probe station may in some configurations be very expensive.
Another solution to this measurement problem is to utilize a dedicated measurement robot that is configured to move a measurement probe to different positions on the DUT. Due to the decreasing dimensions of the circuits the measurement robot needs to be very precise and a precision of +/−50 micrometer is often necessary. This solution is limited by several factors such as for example the number of arms of the robot, another problem is the cost associated with such a dedicated measurement robot.
Another problem with known measurement systems is that the cost of the measurement system is directly proportional to the number of measured signals and the density of the circuit. Hence, in order to monitor a modern circuit such as a DC/DC converter system, or a field programmable gate array, a vast number of measurement channels are needed and the measurement system becomes very expensive.
Therefore, a need for an improved electrical measurement system and method exists.